It was an unhappy visit to Melbourne for the Jets last weekend, losing 3-0 to a City side who once again left talismanic striker Bruno Fornaroli sitting in the stands pondering his future. Unfortunately, the Jets also did their share of pondering, mostly in fairly simple defensive decision-making areas and were severely punished. Newcastle played quite reasonably for much of the first half, so you would have justifiably felt the team could overturn the deficit of an early soft goal. However, seconds before the half-time whistle, a Luke Brattan bomb knocked the stuffing out of Ernie Merrick’s side. After the break, City took control, exerted more pressure in midfield and ensured the game wouldn’t become a run and gun shootout. Tactically astute, and not too difficult to apply when you are 2-0 to the good. So we all search for reasons – lack of intensity, poor concentration, the Samson effect of shaved heads for the majority of the normally miserly defensive unit? How about approach, tactics and team selection? Did I leave out the quality of the opposition, luck and injuries? What about the fact that the two sides who played on that dog’s breakfast minefield at Spotless Stadium the week prior both lost heavily a week later? Coincidence? Is it more to do with the fact that they faced real quality this week in the shape of the Melbourne teams? You can get bombarded by a flood of statistics in a weekend of football watching, and a couple spring readily to mind. Everton travelled to Anfield on Sunday having not won at the home of the Reds since 1999. That’s pre-Tim Cahill, I’m certain, and though Liverpool have generally had slightly superior talent in that time, I doubt Everton have lacked in their preparation, attitude and appetite for 19 years. Liverpool’s 95th-minute winner, which bounced twice on the Everton crossbar before being headed in, was testament to just how hard it is to get a result, let alone a win. Apologies to Franny Jeffers for using this example if he gets wind of this in England. (Geezer, maybe Prince was an Everton fan. Tonight we’re going to party like ...). It’s been seven games since the Jets won in Melbourne, and although that’s not even close to a 20-year drought, it is an indicator that you need a lot of things to go right to get a win down south. Conceding after 90 seconds sits between a gastro bug running through the squad and an early red card as far as setbacks go. The injury to Brazilian Jair meant Merrick had to reshuffle a front third already short on depth and tangible options, and he tried something a little different. Nick Cowburn came into central midfield and played very well. This pushed Steve Ugarkovic a little higher and wider on the right. It allowed Dimi Petratos and Ronny Vargas to operate in turns as a false No.9 or No.10, and the “Hoff “ to start wide on the left. An interesting theory and one asking a different set of questions to a powerful central defensive pairing in Bart Schenkeveld and Harrison Delbridge, who are rarely beaten aerially or for pace. The early concession didn’t help the plan, but, to be fair, the Jets did cause problems in central areas until the hammer blow of the second goal. Having made a point of explaining that victories in Melbourne are hardly par for the course for Jets teams at the best of times, I have to look ahead to the rest of December and note that home games against Brisbane and Perth, an away outing at Gosford and another home fixture against Adelaide before the turn of the year represent an opportunity to climb the league ladder. It’s an opportunity that needs to be accepted because in three games between January 6 and 19, the Jets travel to AAMI Park twice to meet both Melbourne sides then to Jubilee Stadium to face Sydney FC. A tough run in anyone’s language. I note with interest that the next two home games are Sunday fixtures with kick-off of 5pm. Sun worshipers and those looking for a weekend getaway can thus pencil in the 9th and 16th of this month as 35-plus degrees days. And you can throw in the Sunday before Christmas with a 5pm start at Gosford as another potential heatwave. To say it is a massive couple of months for last season’s runners-up is an understatement. And things are certainly looking brighter for the team who beat them in the decider in May. Melbourne Victory are flying and a quick look at a pre-season guide for the coming fixtures reminded me that seven of nine experts picked them to retain the championship. Why? I asked myself at the time. They had lost Besart Berisha, Leroy George and Rhys Williams to name a few. The answer is quite simple – they replaced them with better players. Honda has been exemplary, Ola Toivonen proven, powerful and potentially prolific and Raul Baena showed his class last weekend. Coach Kevin Muscat has also recruited shrewdly in the local market to strengthen a couple of problem areas. There is no doubt Victory have invested heavily, and that in itself brings a weight of expectation, but they are getting a terrific return for that expenditure. What can stop them? Injuries, bad luck and maybe the acquisition of one B. Fornaroli in the January window for a rival in desperate need of a quality striker? Could that tip the scales for someone? You could do a lot worse. Watch this space.

It was an unhappy visit to Melbourne for the Jets last weekend, losing 3-0 to a City side who once again left talismanic striker Bruno Fornaroli sitting in the stands pondering his future.

Unfortunately, the Jets also did their share of pondering, mostly in fairly simple defensive decision-making areas and were severely punished.

Newcastle played quite reasonably for much of the first half, so you would have justifiably felt the team could overturn the deficit of an early soft goal. However, seconds before the half-time whistle, a Luke Brattan bomb knocked the stuffing out of Ernie Merrick’s side.

The early concession didn’t help the plan, but, to be fair, the Jets did cause problems in central areas until the hammer blow of the second goal.

After the break, City took control, exerted more pressure in midfield and ensured the game wouldn’t become a run and gun shootout. Tactically astute, and not too difficult to apply when you are 2-0 to the good.

So we all search for reasons – lack of intensity, poor concentration, the Samson effect of shaved heads for the majority of the normally miserly defensive unit? How about approach, tactics and team selection? Did I leave out the quality of the opposition, luck and injuries? What about the fact that the two sides who played on that dog’s breakfast minefield at Spotless Stadium the week prior both lost heavily a week later? Coincidence? Is it more to do with the fact that they faced real quality this week in the shape of the Melbourne teams?

You can get bombarded by a flood of statistics in a weekend of football watching, and a couple spring readily to mind. Everton travelled to Anfield on Sunday having not won at the home of the Reds since 1999. That’s pre-Tim Cahill, I’m certain, and though Liverpool have generally had slightly superior talent in that time, I doubt Everton have lacked in their preparation, attitude and appetite for 19 years.

Liverpool’s 95th-minute winner, which bounced twice on the Everton crossbar before being headed in, was testament to just how hard it is to get a result, let alone a win. Apologies to Franny Jeffers for using this example if he gets wind of this in England. (Geezer, maybe Prince was an Everton fan. Tonight we’re going to party like ...).

It’s been seven games since the Jets won in Melbourne, and although that’s not even close to a 20-year drought, it is an indicator that you need a lot of things to go right to get a win down south. Conceding after 90 seconds sits between a gastro bug running through the squad and an early red card as far as setbacks go.

The injury to Brazilian Jair meant Merrick had to reshuffle a front third already short on depth and tangible options, and he tried something a little different. Nick Cowburn came into central midfield and played very well. This pushed Steve Ugarkovic a little higher and wider on the right. It allowed Dimi Petratos and Ronny Vargas to operate in turns as a false No.9 or No.10, and the “Hoff “ to start wide on the left.

An interesting theory and one asking a different set of questions to a powerful central defensive pairing in Bart Schenkeveld and Harrison Delbridge, who are rarely beaten aerially or for pace.

The early concession didn’t help the plan, but, to be fair, the Jets did cause problems in central areas until the hammer blow of the second goal.

Having made a point of explaining that victories in Melbourne are hardly par for the course for Jets teams at the best of times, I have to look ahead to the rest of December and note that home games against Brisbane and Perth, an away outing at Gosford and another home fixture against Adelaide before the turn of the year represent an opportunity to climb the league ladder.

It’s an opportunity that needs to be accepted because in three games between January 6 and 19, the Jets travel to AAMI Park twice to meet both Melbourne sides then to Jubilee Stadium to face Sydney FC. A tough run in anyone’s language.

I note with interest that the next two home games are Sunday fixtures with kick-off of 5pm. Sun worshipers and those looking for a weekend getaway can thus pencil in the 9th and 16th of this month as 35-plus degrees days. And you can throw in the Sunday before Christmas with a 5pm start at Gosford as another potential heatwave.

To say it is a massive couple of months for last season’s runners-up is an understatement. And things are certainly looking brighter for the team who beat them in the decider in May.

Melbourne Victory are flying and a quick look at a pre-season guide for the coming fixtures reminded me that seven of nine experts picked them to retain the championship. Why? I asked myself at the time. They had lost Besart Berisha, Leroy George and Rhys Williams to name a few.

The answer is quite simple – they replaced them with better players. Honda has been exemplary, Ola Toivonen proven, powerful and potentially prolific and Raul Baena showed his class last weekend. Coach Kevin Muscat has also recruited shrewdly in the local market to strengthen a couple of problem areas.

There is no doubt Victory have invested heavily, and that in itself brings a weight of expectation, but they are getting a terrific return for that expenditure.

What can stop them? Injuries, bad luck and maybe the acquisition of one B. Fornaroli in the January window for a rival in desperate need of a quality striker? Could that tip the scales for someone?